Tragic update after double murder-suicide

The ex-partner of a man who murdered a woman and her teenage daughter before killing himself was not staying with them, it has been revealed.

WA Police Minister Paul Papalia also revealed the ex-partner of Mark James Bombara, 63, approached police for help weeks before the gunman shot dead Jennifer Petelczyc, 59, and her daughter Gretl, 18, at their home in the affluent suburb of Floreat.

The ex-partner was seeking police assistance to remove her belongings from the Mosman Park mansion she shared with Mr Bombara after a series of family and domestic violence incidents had allegedly occurred.

Mr Papalia said none of those incidents had been reported to police and Mr Bombara did not have a criminal record.

“Under the current laws, he was still deemed a fit and proper person,” he said.

“The current laws are inadequate.”

Mr Papalia further revealed Ms Petelczyc was not cable tied and there was no family or domestic violence restraining order in place.

WA Police also confirmed a restraining order was not in place at the time of the murders.

The state is about to introduce the toughest gun laws in Australia, but they could become even more strict after the chilling murders that took place last Friday.

It is believed Bombara went to the home looking for his ex-partner, who left him several weeks ago but she was not there.

Premier Roger Cook has ordered a review into legislation that is currently before parliament to see if further reforms may have helped authorities prevent the tragedy.

Bombara was a licenced gun owner, who had 13 guns — two of those guns were used to kill Ms Petelczyc and her daughter.

Mr Cook said as a community we all needed to do more to tackle the root causes of family and domestic violence, and the murders highlighted the need to sort WA’s gun laws once and for all.

He said it was hard to fathom that one man could legally own 13 guns in the suburbs of Perth.

“Our firearm reforms are before the parliament right now. They will be debated in the Legislative Council tomorrow. They will be the toughest gun laws in Australia,” he said.

“We owe that to Jennifer and to Gretl because anything we can do to reduce the access to guns will reduce the chances for another tragedy like this.

“This was a crime motivated by family and domestic violence. As a society, we need to do better to put a stop to family violence.

“That is why this government is investing more than $400m towards family and domestic violence prevention and response.

“We will keep looking at every option to tackle this devastating crime across our society.”

Mr Papalia said the current gun laws were inadequate and the new laws before parliament would have impacted Bombara from owning guns.

“The new laws state, categorically, that the possession and use of a firearm is a privilege and that privilege is conditional on public safety,” he said.

“This assumption drives every other part of the law and impacts every licenced firearm holder in the state.

“In addition, there will be no recreational licence in the new laws.

“He would have been impacted by the numerical limits of the new laws in that he would have only been able to possess five firearms.

“He would have been subject to a health check with a mental health component and the collectors licence that he held would have been subject to far stricter regulations and requirements, which would have prevented him from being approved as a collector.”

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said she was in favour of firearm reform.

“We have sought to refer this legislation to a committee to examine ways we can further strengthen it while avoiding unintended consequences, which the government has refused to do,” she said.

“The horrific murders at Floreat highlights the need for further consultation on firearm legislation to ensure it can keep Western Australians as safe as possible.”

Addressing violent crime has become a key focus of the WA Liberal Party, which has promised to crackdown on violent offenders if elected.

“Under a Liberal government, if you have a violence restraining order or family violence restraining order, you will not be allowed to own firearms,” Ms Mettam said.

“If you are subject to a violence restraining order application, you will have to turn over your guns to police until an outcome is decided.

“We have previously committed to a policy which will see serious offenders who breach a VRO and who aren’t jailed, be required to wear a tracking bracelet.

“The Cook government promised to introduce tracking legislation last year but haven’t delivered, and they haven’t even allocated funding to buy the tracking bracelets.”

White Ribbon Australia chief executive Melissa Perry said the horrendous domestic violence homicide of a mother and her teenage daughter was incredibly sad and enraging.

“The damning statistic is clear; 31 women dead in less than five months,” she said.

“This is unacceptable. It needs to stop now.”

Ms Perry said working across the spectrum of family domestic violence and abuse they knew the scope of men’s violence was not determined by postcode, socio-economic circumstances, the colour of your skin, or where you worked.

“As of the 26 May, 31 Australian women have lost their lives to violence, the vast majority of these deaths at the hands of male partners or former partners,” she said.

“A mother and her daughter were killed because they opened their home and their hearts to support a friend navigating the end of a relationship.”

White Ribbon is a national organisation that works in the prevention of men’s violence against women, and calls on men and boys to help change the attitudes and behaviours of their peers that drives men’s violence and abuse.

“Men’s violence against women is not a women’s issue, it is a men’s issue,” Ms Perry said.

“We need men’s leadership now, and we cannot stand by as a society and let our inactivity be a signal for passive consent.”